Breadcrumb

Related Pages

Journalist Bob Woodward Questions Obama’s Leadership at Campus Event

September 10, 2014

Bob Woodward at the podium in Johnson Chapel.

While Barack Obama may have “the armor of a good heart” and high hopes for the future of the country, the president has still not found a way to engage Congress productively, said Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward to a crowd of nearly 600 Amherst College students, faculty, staff and area residents during a presentation at Johnson Chapel on Sept. 9.

Obama Observes the World

“We Don't Need Tickets—Let’s Just Go”

Alain Hunkins ’90 was at the National Mall for the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States. Here is his dispatch.

By Alain Hunkins ’90

The icy breeze cut through the marble boulevards. With hours to go until dawn, the darkness was broken with the flashing blue of police cars. We had just emerged from underground, ready for action. We were dressed ready for the elements, from our Gore-Tex down to our trail mix. Our map set a course due south to the National Mall. It was there that we’d cross the intersection of the personal and political, meeting up at the junction of history.

Now What?

The air on campus was full of cheers, laughter, applause and optimism Tuesday, Jan. 20, as members of the college community gathered together in various spots to witness the historic swearing in of President Barack Obama. Students, faculty, staff, spouses and friends alike congregated around televisions in Converse Hall, Keefe Campus Center, Stirn Auditorium, Frost Library and other buildings to watch the inauguration, and many had an opinion about the new commander-in-chief’s challenges and prospects for the future. Caroline Hanna and Sam Masinter with the Office of Public Affairs spoke with several of them and asked what they believe to be the most pressing issue facing Obama and why. Here are just a few of their thoughts.

What do you think is the most urgent issue facing the Obama administration? Log in and let us know.

Donald Kells, college postmaster

The war in Iraq and whether we should pull out, employment.… There are just so many issues.

Marissa Drehobl ’09, Stuart, Fla.

The issues of global warming, the environment and the sciences. I’m really looking forward to what the Obama administration is going to do to raise the awareness level of the average citizen on scientific research, what needs to be done and what is being done. I hope there will be more funding in the future for initiatives like stem cell research.

Peter Crowley, professor of geology

Our economy is having serious problems at the moment, and—now, I’m not an economist—but it seems to me that confidence is a big part of it. Somehow creating continued confidence in the economy—that to me is Obama’s biggest challenge.

Molly Mead, director of the Center for Community Engagement

I think restoring faith in America around the world is the most important thing to do—more important than the economy, more important than anything else. We need to reestablish ties with people we’ve alienated or who have lost faith in us. I don’t think anything else in the world will work until that happens. If we care, for example, about the economy and we want other nations work with us to do something about it, they have to have some belief in America.